My opinion:
I am quite saddened by this announcement and the interviews that took place afterwards. I know its smarter to make an all in one machine, as gaming only machines don't sell as well today, but this thing is basically a glorified cable box. The entire program was spent talking about how it interacts with your TV - Features as a gamer that I couldn't care less about. Not to mention how useless that stuff with be for anyone outside of the US, Japan especially. That TV stufff just wont work here with the required card readers, most of which are built into the TV. I guess that more supports the idea that Microsoft is just letting go of Japan.

Always on(Mostly), no used games, no support for original or xbox 360 games. I bought so many XBLA games, and its sad to see this stuff wont be tied to an account with machines that can play it.

I don't mind DRM when done right. Hell the "project $10" stuff didn't even really bother me. I have games on steam, but I don't mind it as much cause I pay next to nothing for those games, and I know those will always be supported on any computer I have. I can also play those games offline.

This thing is just a mess, it will sell fine just as the PS4 will, but as a gamer there is not much there for me. Maybe E3 will change my mind, but I just can't see myself caring anymore about the direction dedicated game machines are going. Just left me with a feeling of sadness overall.

The Xbox One will have an HDMI in port, I'm not sure how exactly it will work but that is how it will be used for TV in other countries outside of the US.

The "no used games" thing really sucks. Although it isn't "always on," it sounds like it will be required to authenticate with Microsoft before a game can be played. They have said that you can resell games, but it sounds like you will have to transfer your license with Microsoft, you can't just sell the disc or the new owner will have to rebuy the game when they put the disc in the console.

I'm pretty concerned about the Kinect BS, though. It will come with the Kinect camera and microphone, and you are required to have it hooked up at all times for the console to function, even if you don't play any Kinect games or don't use the voice features. Keep in mind that the Kinect microphone also has the ability to distinguish between different peoples' voices, and the Kinect microphone functions while the console is turned off (after all, it needs to be able to hear when you say "Xbox, turn on!"). Microsoft has even said that it can detect the heartbeat of those who are in the room.

I have very little to no interest in playing Kinect games for the most part, yet I will be required to have this system hooked up watching and listening to my living room at all times, and it isn't exactly convenient to unplug it when I'm not playing since it is used to watch TV as well. I'm not saying Ballmer is going to be listening to our living rooms, but at the same time, it would be entirely possible for him to do so if he wanted to. Fuck that. This is Big Brother's wet dream.

Like I said in regard to the PS4: it really feels like the console makers are forcing an end to this generation for purely business purposes, with no real new idea driving a need for new hardware. But that's not exactly a compelling reason for consumers to adopt new hardware, so they desperately cast about for something to interest their end users, and settled on "cloud data and more online sharing." Of course, this artificial "next step" is made even more transparent by the fact that they could just as easily push most of those features to their current-generation systems in a firmware update.

I'm sure I'll end up missing out on some games, but I really have zero interest in either platform, and I don't like the direction they look to be taking the industry. The new generation sounds--at least, preliminarily--like it's intentionally turning away from most of the things I like about gaming and game consoles (hassle-free play, easy game sharing, library building, and knowing I can always come back to my favorites years later), and putting a big spotlight on a bunch of stuff I couldn't care less about.

It's not my job to find ways that their product could be compelling; it's their job to make a product that appeals to me and fits my needs. Microsoft and Sony are both failing hard at that task. Obviously, it's early yet. Neither console is actually out yet, and nobody knows for sure what developers will put out there. But at this point, even though it probably means missing out on a *lot* of games, I'm inclined to stick to my Wii U for the next generation and everyone else can just go fuck themselves.

1) Voice control and gestures suck. Well, they don't, but I don't live in Tony Stark's lab. I'm just trying to control a TV. Complete over-engineering for such a simple task. We all know it won't work properly anyway.

2) All this daily online check-in and pre-owned fees stuff is worrying.

3) Non-replaceable HDD. No excuse. Sony have managed it with their last 2 consoles. Considering game installs are now mandatory (yay it's a PC!) this is a really stupid move.

4) I'm not sure how the TV features will work outside the US - unless it's just for online streaming TV. I guess free TV is fine, but pay-TV needs decoders and stuff...

5) I just don't want Microsoft to be at the center of my entertainment world.

It's not looking too good really. I'll pick up the Wii U when it's cheaper for family gaming - but it's obviously not the answer for gamers who want next-gen stuff. I don't like Microsoft's direction at all. So yeah, back with Sony where I started. Details are sketchy on the PS4 right now, but if they can simply manage to release a more powerful PS3 I'll be happy.

I think we will have to wait and see on that. Personally, there's zero chance that I'll be buying an Xbox One or a PS4; however, I do kind of want a Wii U. Things don't look great for the Wii U at this point, but I suppose it's possible that things could pick up if the Xbox One and PS4 falter and Nintendo drops the price of the Wii U.

cube_b3 wrote:Completely off-topic post, please forgive me given the answer to this question will be obvious as well.

Graphically will Wii-U be able to compete with PS4 or X1?

Or is it basically the same shit as the Wii all over again, Wii U is on par or just below PS3/360 graphically?

Some devs have claimed its less capable than the PS3/360. I'd take that with a pinch of salt, but the lack of current-gen support for the Wii U is worrying. If companies don't think Wii U versions of Bioshock, Tomb Raider, GTA etc. are worth their time now, I'm not sure how the next few years are going to stack up.

As a customer and Nintendo fan I find it incredibly frustrating. A console with Mario, Zelda and five years of consistent third party support would be the perfect system for me. But it's not happening.

Also: The Last of Us, GTA5, AC4, Watch Dogs, COD Ghosts...all the AAA games of the rest of this year will be available on current gen hardware. If they weren't, I'd probably be buying a new console for Christmas. But as it stands, I'm not going to throw down $400 just for the same games with better graphics. I think it's going to be a very slow launch for both Sony and MS.

One thing Nintendo will always have, no matter what happens with their system otherwise: must-have first-party titles. And the Wii U is a bit different, because the Wii needed to die. It was underpowered from the beginning.

And I went into this a bit when the PS4 was announced, but the others feel totally unnecessary--like they are really only there to add things that benefit Microsoft's and Sony's revenue streams, but not to meet any previously-unmet consumer needs. They're designed solely based on what the companies want, with nothing new of actual interest to the customer. And most of the (very few) new features they bring are things that easily could've been pushed to the current generation with a firmware update.

This is the first console generation I ever remember where it feels like there's no real need or compelling reason for a new hardware generation--they just want all the business that comes with "new console time," so they forced a new generation and scrambled to find a "reason" for gamers after the fact. Both the Xbox One and the PS4 seem like they're more about retraining consumer behavior than about enabling new game design. At least the Wii U is letting Nintendo take some of the concepts they toyed with on the DS (and with the ridiculous GameCube + 4 GBAs setup) and bring it home to the console.

With every hardware generation until now, developers were seriously butting into the hardware limitations, having to find clever tricks to get around limited memory and processing power just to realize their game concepts. I really do think the problem is that we've finally reached a point where it's "good enough;" the current generation might not make everything quite as sparkly as the most recent PC hardware, but with this generation, the hardware reached a point of being more than powerful enough where developers can do around 95% of what they want to without significant issue.

DaMadFiddler wrote:This is the first console generation I ever remember where it feels like there's no real need or compelling reason for a new hardware generation--they just want all the business that comes with "new console time," so they forced a new generation and scrambled to find a "reason" for gamers after the fact. Both the Xbox One and the PS4 seem like they're more about retraining consumer behavior than about enabling new game design.

With every hardware generation until now, developers were seriously butting into the hardware limitations, having to find clever tricks to get around limited memory and processing power just to realize their game concepts. I really do think the problem is that we've finally reached a point where it's "good enough;" the current generation might not make everything quite as sparkly as the most recent PC hardware, but with this generation, the hardware reached a point of being more than powerful enough where developers can do around 95% of what they want to without significant issue.

I have to completely disagree with you. Every console generation has lasted roughly 5 years before the next generation released. Right now we are approaching the 8th year of these consoles. The gaming industry is on serious decline partially due to a fatigue from these consoles being on the market too long. PC gaming can best these consoles with even a current low-end video card. And even our cell phones are to the point of surpassing them visually. A good chunk of people have upgraded their TV's to 1080p flat screens, and neither system can even output all their games at 1080p.

Fiddler emphasized things are good enough as is, not great or perfect.

Therefore I will agree with him especially since what we have seen from Ps4/X1 has more to do with multimedia or social networking than evolving games. The only company that actually did any sort of innovation on the gaming front is sadly Nintendo.

Maybe Nintendo should have released Wii U or Wii HD 2 years back as a hardware upgrade or something and things would have bed better for them. Maybe not?

I'm sure it will find its feet eventually but it was pretty dire in general.
Glad they didn't mess with the controller too much.
Voice control looks awful, the last thing I want to do is talk to my TV.
Always on kinda. Awful.
No used games. Awful.
Call of Duty and sports games, don't care, nothing that hasn't been done to death this generation already.
TV integration meaningless to me, I have a modern Smart TV.
Box looks big, the vents all over suggest it'll be noisy.
Show me a killer app for Kinect and I'll consider it useful.

Once Nintendo first party stuff starts appearing I think the Wii-U is going to look like a reasonable option. Currently the 3DS is my console of choice.

cube_b3 wrote:Fiddler emphasized things are good enough as is, not great or perfect.

Therefore I will agree with him especially since what we have seen from Ps4/X1 has more to do with multimedia or social networking than evolving games. The only company that actually did any sort of innovation on the gaming front is sadly Nintendo.

Maybe Nintendo should have released Wii U or Wii HD 2 years back as a hardware upgrade or something and things would have bed better for them. Maybe not?

I like innovation in software. Gaming hardware just doesn't need it. Wiimotes, Kinect, Playstation Move, Touchscreens, 3D...there's a reason most games aren't using any of them and just sticking with traditional methods.

I agree with Mel too. It's time to move on. I played Bioshock Infinite on my 360. It's a great game and certainly not "ugly" but at the same time...it is. Absolutely nothing stands up to close-up inspection. The game has so much scope that the textures have been reduced to a god-awful resolution that's pretty jarring whenever you notice it.

It's not that my graphical standards have changed yet again. It's literally worse-looking than the original Bioshock, because they've had to port a 2013 game down to 2005, yes 2005 technology.

I think that's silly. What can't they do with this generation of consoles?

Photorealism?

Can things look better? Of course... there's definitely room for improvement. But "not good enough" anymore?

This. Of *course* new hardware would make photorealistic games prettier. But with the exception of very large-scale or AI-intensive games that have a *lot* of background calculations taking place, there isn't really much in terms of gameplay that developers struggle to do with the current hardware. It's reached that point where the hardware is good enough that it doesn't really stand in the way of game design any more, making further upgrades feel more optional than inevitable. That's part of why this generation has lasted so long.

Show me games that wouldn't work properly on the PS3/360, then I'll reconsider. But I see no reason (aside from money) that the PS3 and 360 couldn't handle "less pretty" versions of everything that's been discussed so far.

I'd love it if the PS3 hung around through the next generation as a "lower budget" option for those of us who don't find the additional eye candy and ridiculous social networking features worth the upgrade (and sacrifice of all the money spent on PSN downloads and current-gen titles). And the continued presence of these (PPC-based) systems would also make Wii U ports more likely. The Wii U is in the unenviable position now of being the only next-gen system with PPC architecture while both the PS4 and Xbox One are basically walled-garden Intel PCs, but if one or both of the other current-gen systems were to hang around as a viable platform, that might increase the developer appeal of porting things. Of course, from a corporate perspective, this would kind of undermine the PS4 and One in the first place, but that's their own damn fault for not having a better strategy.

In broad terms, I think we are witnessing the first stages of an industry that's about to drop the ball in a massive way. The console hardware game is about to change radically, and it'll be interesting to see what emerges.

I think that's silly. What can't they do with this generation of consoles?

Photorealism?

Can things look better? Of course... there's definitely room for improvement. But "not good enough" anymore?

They can't do Bioshock Infinite. The textures are worse than the original because they had to make significant graphical concessions to boost performance.

Honestly though? Old consoles can't satisfy my curiosity. It's been eight years. I'm playing games on a machine made before I had my son, before I met my wife, before I moved to China, before I left university...I'm bored with it. Rather than shooting down new technology because I can't think of anything to do with it myself, I'm eager to see what's next.

Specially Cork wrote:They can't do Bioshock Infinite. The textures are worse than the original because they had to make significant graphical concessions to boost performance.

Yeah, but that's just graphics.

Specially Cork wrote:Honestly though? Old consoles can't satisfy my curiosity. It's been eight years. I'm playing games on a machine made before I had my son, before I met my wife, before I moved to China, before I left university...I'm bored with it. Rather than shooting down new technology because I can't think of anything to do with it myself, I'm eager to see what's next.

That's completely fine, as long as you're admitting it's a new console for a new console's sake.

I'm not saying that the tech would should just stop at the Xbox 360 and PS3 or anything like that. But this has to be the most underwhelming, disappointing "new generation." Getting a new generation of consoles is supposed to be more exciting than upgrading your computer's hardware. And that's all we're really getting here, aside from a bunch of tacked on "features," most of which could really be done in this current generation, as well as a whole shitload of new restrictions and bullshit.

I would honestly much rather them just release a new 360 with a faster CPU/GPU than get an Xbox One.